The construction of gutters and the placement thereof against the fascia board of a building structure is well known in the art. Gutters are typically made of a thin extruded material such as aluminum or vinyl and are subject to damage when ladders are placed against them, particularly when workmen or a homeowner climbs up and down a ladder so positioned carrying heavy loads such as shingles or other roofing materials. The pressure exerted by a ladder against a gutter under these conditions typically bends or crushes it, which not only destroys the aesthetics of the guttered roofline, but also may cause clogging of the gutter. Moreover, the bent or crushed portion of the gutter may present an unstable and hazardous ladder position.
Entering and exiting the top of a ladder are considered the most dangerous maneuvers involved in ladder usage and the point where most falls occur. The danger of a ladder sliding laterally along the face of a gutter or slipping out from under a person as he or she steps off the ladder onto a roof or from a roof onto the upper rungs of the ladder is more likely to occur during these maneuvers due to the shifting an individual's weight as the entrance or exit maneuver is executed, and the danger is enhanced even further if the person is carrying a load, such as tools, shingles, or other work materials.
Considerable prior art and products in already in the marketplace exist which attempt to solve these related problems. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,071 issued to Stennett on Oct. 25, 1994 discloses a gutter protecting ladder attachment which fits inside a gutter channel and includes a pair of spaced apart legs and a transversely extending support rod disposed through each of the legs and a hollow rung of the ladder which are designed to provide support therefor. However, the structure of this device is fixed in dimension so that only ladders that are sufficiently narrow in width to fit between the supporting legs may be used in conjunction with it, and it is susceptible to bending and distortion through repeated use. Moreover, Stennett's apparatus is not readily adaptable to gutters of varying configurations, such as OG gutters, box gutters or half round gutters. The adaptability problem is complicated further by the availability of different gutter sizes, typically four, five or six inch depths, depending upon the application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,848 issued to Travis on Mar. 12, 1996 discloses a ladder mounter gutter protector which fits over an edge of a gutter and rests against the shingles on the adjacent roof. A ladder may be secured to a flat plate or face portion of the device by cords or cables; however, the apparatus of the Travis disclosure does not address the tipping or slippage problem.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,401 issued to Murray on Mar. 12, 2002 discloses a U-shaped gutter saver and ladder support which fits over the gutter channel and rests against the fascia board to which the gutter is affixed. This device includes a pair of spaced-apart brackets which are positioned to prevent the ladder from sliding laterally. However, the device disclosed by Murray is positioned to rest unsecured over the gutter up against the fascia board and is susceptible to slippage while in actual use.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that a need exists for an improved combination gutter protection and ladder support apparatus which not only meets current safety requirements for ladder support but also which provides a readily movable apparatus for securing a ladder to a gutter while at the same time providing protection for the gutter against damage resulting from the ladder being positioned against it. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.